Ukraine Refugees

Difficulties Entering the United States and California

Initially, there were two primary methods in which many refugees, including Ukrainians, would be able to find refuge in the U.S; 1) participating in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and 2) seeking asylum.

In the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program one can register with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to determine whether or not one can qualify as a refugee. The issue with this method is that individuals referred by the UN must go through a rigorous vetting process which could take about 2 years or longer. Clearly, this is not an option as people are in need of a secure environment as soon as possible. Thus, seeking asylum was a more preferred option. At the beginning of the war, Ukrainian refugees would escape to Tijuana, a border city of Mexico, and wait for friends or family living in the U.S. to help them cross the border into California. By qualifying as an international law definition of a refugee according to the American Immigration Council, individuals are protected from being returned to their home countries and may qualify for government programs. However, seeking asylum was complicated under the Trump administration due to the “Remain in Mexico” policy. This “prevents asylum-seekers from entering the U.S. while proceedings are underway rather than being admitted and detained” (Davis). Similar to the first method, this process can take years and does not offer any protection to individuals partaking in this process. Due to the numerous issues with the U.S. refugee system, Biden announced the Uniting for Ukraine program on April 25 with the goal of streamlining the refugee process and letting in 100,000 people fleeing Russia’s invasion into the U.S. Despite an initial positive reaction, it was not long before people came to realize similar flaws with previous systems.

Uniting for Ukraine is an online program that allows refugees to gain legal authorization to fly to U.S. airports and stay with Americans who have agreed to sponsor them. However, in order to apply for this program, the sponsor and refugee must submit the necessary documentation to prove the sponsor’s stable income, and the refugee’s health and good financial footing. These documents include vaccination records, the deed of the refugee’s house, and etc. It may be extremely difficult to acquire these documents, especially for refugees whose houses are located in a war zone. Svitlana Rogers, an individual trying to bring her sister and her family to America, called friends living in her sister’s hometown of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, for 10 days to obtain all of the information.

Not only is it difficult to gather the documents, but some of the requirements listed on the application are difficult to follow. For instance, the application requires evidence of sufficient income from the sponsoring individual, but does not explain how much is “sufficient income.” Although one may ask questions about the requirements, one can expect to be put on hold for an hour each time. Furthermore, due to the fact that these applications are meant for one person, an entire family seeking refuge in the U.S. requires the sponsor to submit multiple applications. Unfortunately, if only a few family members are accepted, it could lead to the decision of separation.

In addition, sponsors participating in the Uniting for Ukraine program can only be individuals. Thus, nonprofits and religious organizations are not qualified to be a sponsor in this program. For instance, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a non-profit organization that has resettled 25% of Ukrainians who were admitted through U.S. refugee programs, is not able to participate in this program. Currently, there have been about 13,000 applications submitted but the agency has not yet specified how long the reviewing process will take. Evidently, this new program fails to accomplish its goal of being a “streamlined process” for letting in Ukrainian refugees (Homeland Security).

Why did they become Refugees?

The Russo-Ukrainian War, which started in 2014, significantly escalated on February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. More than 9.1 million Ukrainians fled the country as a result of the invasion, and a third of the population was displaced, resulting in the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), Ukrainians began migrating to the United States in the late 19th century. It was recorded that an estimated 254,000 arrivals between 1899 and 1914 consisted mainly of agricultural laborers. Motivated in “seeking economic and employment opportunities.” After a war with the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1921 for Ukrainian independence, approximately 12,000 mostly well educated and urban Ukrainians migrated to the United States. Another substantial Ukrainian exodus resulted from the devastation of World War II, with some 80,000 moving to the United States between 1947 and 1955.

Difficulties they’re facing NOW as they live in California, Has the situation improved or have they gotten worse?

Ukrainian refugees are facing various different issues as they are migrating to the United States and more specifically California. Ukrainians, according to various different sources, have entered in large numbers with a minimum of 100,000 refugees receiving needed aid. The two largest cities where Ukrainian refugees have settled are Seattle and Sacramento. Nearly 18,000 Ukranians reside in Sacramento and receive “food, shelter and support.” Sources say that lots of crucial resources are being provided to these Ukrainians, and they are better able to make the transition to the United States. However, shelter seems to be a primary issue in Sacramento just like the rest of California. “People are coming here; we can help them; we can provide something. But it’s going to get swamped so quick,” said Kislyanka, the head pastor at House of Bread. The entire region surrounding Sacramento has seen a substantial increase in rent and the prices of housing properties. Also, the county suffers from many agencies being “understaffed and overwhelmed.” According to capradio.org, “Dmitriy Pridyuk, senior pastor at Revival Christian Center in Sacramento’s Foothill Farms area, said his church is housing about 35 immigrants on a short-term basis, providing them with a place to sleep and shower, food, and other assistance.” But, California has provided many Ukrainian refugees under the status of “humanitarian parole or temporary protected status” which qualifies them for needed healthcare such as Medi-Cal. Many of the refugees suffer from PTSD and various other health conditions and require healthcare. Also, Sacramento county has set 3 million dollars for afghan refugees and seems to be going in the direction of setting the same or more for Ukrainian refugees. The situation in Sacramento with the massive influx in refugees seems to be taking a toll on the county. But, the city is committed, “More and more families are just showing up at our doorstep,” Mishra said. “We made the decision that we were not going to turn them away even if we don’t have a clear read on their legal status.” Alongside Sacramento, Los Angeles seems to be taking in a significant amount of Ukrainian refugees and has supported these refugees as needed. “At St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, staff are busy helping new arrivals and rallying support for those still in Ukraine. At Easter services last month, the church had more than 1,000 people in the pews, about four times more than usual, said the Rev. Vasile Sauciur.” The Los Angeles Unified School District also seems to be experiencing a “slow influx” in Ukrainian children and helps those children cope with the mental trauma and cultural change they experience entering the United States. Specifically, one organization, We are One L.A. Unified, has made its impact on this crisis by providing “information on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, school enrollment, meals and other resources.” The situation in California is not perfect, but it has greatly helped with the Ukrainian refugee crisis.

General Statistics on Ukraine Refugees

California’s Ukrainian community is one of the largest in the country, home to almost 60,000 immigrants from Ukraine, the second highest to New York with 75,000 Ukrainian immigrants (according to the American Community Survey from 2016-2020). “Regionally, the Sacramento metropolitan area has more immigrants from Ukraine (20,000) than any other metropolitan area of California (Los Angeles metro has 17,000 and the Bay Area is home to 14,000). Sacramento ranks first in the nation in the share of its population that are Ukrainian immigrants, and has the fourth highest number of Ukrainian immigrants of any metropolitan area (after New York, Chicago, and Seattle).”

“More than 71,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the U.S. since President Joe Biden announced in March that his administration would welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing the country’s war with Russia, according to new data from the Department of Homeland Security.” The number of Ukrainian refugees fleeing to the US from their country’s conflict with Russia is significantly smaller than those fleeing to neighboring countries and the EU (with more than 5.2 million refugees from Ukraine being recorded across Europe and another 3.5 million having applied for temporary residence in another country compared to 71,000 coming to the US). Yet, more than 7 million people are internally displaced within Ukraine, with 24% indicating their homes had been damaged or attacked in the war.

Just over half (53%) of Ukrainian immigrants came into the US before 2000, with 46% coming after 2000. “Nearly 10,000 Ukrainians gained legal permanent residence” (green card) in 2020, with 39% of these immigrants formerly having refugee or asylee status and “39% becom[ing] permanent residents through sponsorship by a family member who was a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.”